Title

Author(s)

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of this Version

2008

Publication Source

New Media & Society

Volume

10

Issue

4

Start Page

625

Last Page

645

DOI

10.1177/1461444808093734

Abstract

This article examines how online political groups are co-opting internet technology from commercial interests to amplify various cooperative processes. After formulating a framework for praxis-based democratic theories of technology, I select four internet-based groups as institutional exemplars for analysis: Democratic Underground, Free Republic, Indymedia, and Move On.These groups implement distinct types of democratic applications of internet technology and embody specific strands of democratic theory. I conclude by commenting on the direction of internet-based democratic practices, their political efficacy in terms of strategy and tactics, and how they figure within US political culture.

Comments

Note: At the time of publication, author Victor Pickard was affiliated with the University of Illinois. Currently, he is a faculty member at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.